Walnut Cake aka 'Gateau aux Noix'

[pscot]

This is dead easy and just the thing to go with your afternoon cuppa. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. This will stick. I used pecans because I didn't have walnuts. I also shortened the baking time a bit.

100g of butter
* 200g of sugar
* 4 eggs, separated
* 200g of walnuts, chopped very finely
* 80g of plain flour
* 1 dessertspoon of rum


Method

* pre-heat oven to gas mark 7 or 210 deg C (400 F)

* cream the butter with a wooden spoon

* add the sugar and the egg yolks and mix well together

* add the nuts, rum and flour and again mix well, but don't beat!

* beat the egg whites till stiff and fold into the mixture

* place the mixture in a cake mould

* bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 mins

* then lower the temperature to gas mark 5 or 150 deg C (300 F)

* and continue baking for another 25 mins


http://www.traditionalfrenchfood.com/walnut-cake.html

[livetohike]

1. Sounds wonderful! Thanks for posting it

Copying now.

[EFerrari]

2. This is a great recipe for us

because we always have those things in the house. (Okay, not rum but, I can fix that. lol)

Thank you.

[pscot]

3. I used rum extract

Which i guess is rum in a really tiny bottle. I bet maple syrup would work too. I like this recipe a lot. With not much more effort than sugar cookies, you get a great little cake.

[kentauros]

4. What size or shape of "cake mould"?

I've got some basic pans (9" round, 9" square, 10" springform, bundt pan) as well as some unused paper pans in a star shape. I don't remember what the volume is for the paper ones. But I do think they're silicon-coated, like the parchment paper I use

I'd like to try this one, as I have eggs to use up (I don't eat eggs.) Plus, I also have a nice big bag of pecans to use

[pscot]

5. I was just going to use a 9" cake pan

but it looked too small for the batter so I put it in a 10" spring form. That looked kind of thin, but the cake rose enough in baking. This is a fairly dense cake but I think it's supposed to be, since the eggs are the only leavening. The French use fancy cake molds with sculpted designs, but a flat pan is probably best, since it has a tendency to stick. I plan to use parchment paper in the bottom of the next one.

[kentauros]

6. Thank you for discovering the pan-size :)

I have a 10" springform, too, and usually wrap parchment over the bottom before I lock it into the pan. Then, with a sharp knife or scissors, I cut the excess off. That leaves the parchment tight in the pan, and easier to remove later.

Do you think buttering the sides would help keep it from sticking there?

This seems to be a pretty easy and straightforward recipe, so I'm going to have to try it this week. Thanks for sharing!

[pscot]

7. Butter couldn't hurt

Post your results if you try it. Good luck.

[tru]

8. Some year when I get a metric scale

I might try this.

[pscot]

9. One stick of butter

8 oz sugar, 8 oz nuts, 3/4 c.flour. It's pretty simple, really.

[pscot]

10. Two words

Chocolate chips. Oh, and cream cheese. I haven't tried frosting yet, but I will. Butterscotch sounds tempting.